Three Russians and a Ukrainian are guilty of shooting down the Malaysian plane

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A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014. PHOTOS: Reuters, archive

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Three Russians and a Ukrainian are fully responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. The Dutch prosecutor’s office said today and called for them to be found guilty of murder, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

The men, who are still at large, could face up to various terms in prison, including life imprisonment, if convicted of aiding and abetting the delivery of a missile system used by Russian-backed rebels to launch a rocket at a passenger plane flying from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur.

“The four suspects together are fully responsible for the downing of flight MH17, which killed 298 people on board and killed people on board the plane,” prosecutor Thais Berger told judges.

On the second day of the closing arguments, the prosecution said the evidence showed that the suspects – Russians Oleg Pulatov, Sergei Dubinski and Igor Girkin, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko – played a leading role in the region where MH17 was ousted.

The four were identified by a special international team investigating the crash of flight MH17 and were later named by Dutch prosecutors.

According to prosecutors, the men, who are linked to Russian-backed rebel groups, made it possible to shoot down MH17 by arranging for a Russian-made Buk missile to be sent to the area.

Under Dutch law, it does not matter that the suspects ultimately did not pull the trigger, as someone who causes someone else to commit a crime can be convicted as the perpetrator, the prosecution said.

Tomorrow, at the end of a 20-month trial, it is expected to become clear what sentence the prosecution wants.

None of the accused was present in court. One of the suspects, Pulatov, has sent lawyers to represent him. The others never cooperated with the court and were tried in absentia.

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